Across from the Anschutz Medical Campus in the heart of Aurora, the sounds of construction reverberate through the streets. To Jason Janz, it’s the sounds of a bright future for hundreds of Aurorans who will move into the under-construction affordable housing complex next year and begin free career training classes at the same facility. 

“The moment you walk in, you feel the love, the dignity and the work,” Janz said.

Janz, the CEO of nonprofit CrossPurpose, said these words as he motioned toward the foundation of a large room with a tall ceiling and towering windows.

Holding back tears, Janz described the vision for the under-construction room, which includes an area in the center of an apartment complex that would have free coffee and food, and would house a free family dinner weekly.

“The walls will be covered in local art, and every piece of art has a human person in it,” Janz said. “The whole idea is to uplift the human spirit.”

The room is one of many in an affordable housing complex going up across from the Anschutz Medical Campus near Colfax Avenue through a partnership between community organizations including CrossPurpose, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Aurora NAACP and Cherry Creek School District.

The housing complex is more than a place to live, Janz explained. It will also house free classes for residents, helping people living there go from affordable housing to home ownership throughout the course of a six-month career training program.

CrossPurpose, a Denver-based nonprofit formed in 2012 to help people transition out of generational poverty, currently has locations in Englewood and Denver and is in the process of adding two additional locations in Arvada and Aurora. 

The organization is raising $6.5 million for the two new locations to cover programs, staffing and support. 

Since its inception, CrossPurpose has helped 1,100 people graduate from its free, six-month career training program, according to organization spokesperson Abby Mellinger. The program is aimed at unemployed and underemployed adults in the metro Denver area, helping train them for 15 career industries including construction, medical, culinary, administrative and trucking.

From the beginning of the program to graduation, participants see an average of 500% wage growth, according to a news release from the nonprofit. 

In Arvada, CrossPurpose will implement its six-month, tuition-free career training program at a new facility. Almost a quarter of Arvada residents make $25,000 a year or less, according to the news release. CrossPurpose’s program empowers people to choose a career path, get trained in it and graduate with a stable job.

In Aurora, CrossPurpose is establishing a career training campus along with affordable housing units, a community center and a church, according to the release. 

They will invest $3.5 million to create the 16,000 square feet of space and serve more than 200 people each year.

CrossPurpose has projected that 600 people will graduate from the program in the first five years, bringing graduates and their families out of poverty, according to the release. 

The cost of the facility will be partially covered by a two-year grant of $124,000 from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which got involved after donating to support the Cherry Creek Leadership Academy.

The academy supports students in Cherry Creek schools affected by violence and crime. Once they graduate, they can transition to CrossPurpose programming for more support. 

The land Aurora’s facility is going up on was originally owned by a farmer who hoped the land would go to a ministry, Janz said.

Living Hope Community Church bought the land at a reduced cost, but it sat vacant for a decade until one of the church members, who was also a CrossPurpose graduate, suggested CrossPurpose start a center there. 

Janz and his team brought the city and various community partners together to do just that. 

“To the left, there will be a big employment training room in the back corner there, and then our offices and counseling rooms will be over there,” Janz pointed between rooms in the under-construction building, helping prospective residents visualize what their future could look like there.

Residents can access the career programs for free, Janz said. They will get six weeks of soft skills classes — such as resume writing, public speaking and coping skills — then they pick a specialized career skill to train in.

“A lot of what we’re doing is helping them heal from the core wounds of their life, and it’s a therapeutic environment of tenderness and care,” Janz said. “This is a place of healing.”

More than half of the Colorado workforce needs “something beyond high school” but not necessarily a college education, Janz said. They need some kind of certification, and the labor market in Denver is “starving” for certified credentialed workers.

The organization will match graduates’ down payments on a house, retirement funds and education funds for their children. They will also pay tuition for those who want a four-year degree, Janz said.

“That’s the world we want to live in, right?” Janz said. “Where we can lovingly walk with our neighbors from generational poverty to generational prosperity. And if they’ll put in the sweat, we’ll try to raise the capital and create the partnerships to make that happen.”

Earnest Collins Jr., who helps run the Cherry Creek Leadership Academy, called the facility and program “unbelievable.”

“Everybody’s plan isn’t just to go straight to college. This facility gives families daycare, school, jobs and housing all on one campus,” he said. “It’s a stepping stone to a brighter future for our young people.”

Aaron Wilhite was also on the tour of the new facility as a prospective resident.

Wilhite got involved with CrossPurpose to help his two young sons have a brighter future, he said.

Before CrossPurpose, Wilhite worked a warehouse job that “felt like I was in a rat race every day,” he said.

When his first son was born, he “wanted to give him something different,” Wilhite said. As a single father to two young boys, it’s not easy.

After joining CrossPurpose, Wilhite went through the program and recently landed a job with Dr. Pepper with good benefits and pay, he said.

Wilhite is applying to the resident program at the new facility and said he could really see himself living there. The apartments are really nice compared to the conditions he is used to living in, he said.

“I’m ready for a fresh start,” Wilhite said, tearing up talking about the hope for he and his children’s future. “I hope it influences my kids in a good manner. Coming from how I grew up, I just want them to see something different. I want them to see that you don’t have to come from poverty and watch your parents go through so much to have a good home. I want my kids to grow up seeing dad go to work, being in a good environment and making them want to go on and get a nice home and a nice job. If they see dad do it, they’ll want to do it too.”

The housing units will open in April, with CrossPurpose taking applications starting Jan. 10. The community service facility will open in June and CrossPurpose will start bringing staff to the center in the fall of 2025. Classes will begin in 2026. 

Janz said the first time he walked on the property, he got emotional because the dream had become a reality.

“It was a rainy day, my shoes got all muddy. I walked around the perimeter with the pastor and prayed,” he said. “A lot of things in life that you attempt or you try just never work out. I’m kind of having a pinch-me moment because I can’t believe that it actually happened.”